Long-term effect of mobile phone use on sleep quality: Results from the cohort study of mobile phone use and health (COSMOS)

Giorgio Tettamanti; Anssi Auvinen; Torbjörn Åkerstedt; Katja Kojo; Anders Ahlbom; Sirpa Heinävaara; Paul Elliott; Joachim Schüz; Isabelle Deltour; Hans Kromhout; Mireille B. Toledano; Aslak Harbo Poulsen; Christoffer Johansen; Roel Vermeulen; Maria Feychting; Lena Hillert

Environment International (Jul 2020)

Long-term effect of mobile phone use on sleep quality: Results from the cohort study of mobile phone use and health (COSMOS)

Giorgio Tettamanti,
Anssi Auvinen,
Torbjörn Åkerstedt,
Katja Kojo,
Anders Ahlbom,
Sirpa Heinävaara,
Paul Elliott,
Joachim Schüz,
Isabelle Deltour,
Hans Kromhout,
Mireille B. Toledano,
Aslak Harbo Poulsen,
Christoffer Johansen,
Roel Vermeulen,
Maria Feychting,
Lena Hillert

Affiliations

Giorgio Tettamanti: Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Anssi Auvinen: STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Environmental Radiation Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness, Helsinki, Finland; Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences/Health Sciences, Tampere, Finland
Torbjörn Åkerstedt: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Stress Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Katja Kojo: STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Environmental Radiation Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness, Helsinki, Finland
Anders Ahlbom: Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Sirpa Heinävaara: STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Environmental Radiation Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness, Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, Finland
Paul Elliott: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit on Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, Imperial College London, London, UK; NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, UK
Joachim Schüz: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Radiation Section, Lyon, France
Isabelle Deltour: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Radiation Section, Lyon, France
Hans Kromhout: University of Utrecht, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Mireille B. Toledano: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit on Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, Imperial College London, London, UK
Aslak Harbo Poulsen: Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Christoffer Johansen: Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark; CASTLE Cancer Late Effect Research Oncology Clinic, Center for Surgery and Cancer, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Roel Vermeulen: University of Utrecht, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Maria Feychting: Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Corresponding author at: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Box 210, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
Lena Hillert: Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden; Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 140

Abstract

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Background: Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure (RF-EMF) from mobile phone use on sleep quality has mainly been investigated in cross-sectional studies. The few previous prospective cohort studies found no or inconsistent associations, but had limited statistical power and short follow-up. In this large prospective cohort study, our aim was to estimate the effect of RF-EMF from mobile phone use on different sleep outcomes. Materials and methods: The study included Swedish (n = 21,049) and Finnish (n = 3120) participants enrolled in the Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health (COSMOS) with information about operator-recorded mobile phone use at baseline and sleep outcomes both at baseline and at the 4-year follow-up. Sleep disturbance, sleep adequacy, daytime somnolence, sleep latency, and insomnia were assessed using the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) sleep questionnaire. Results: Operator-recorded mobile phone use at baseline was not associated with most of the sleep outcomes. For insomnia, an odds ratio (OR) of 1.24, 95% CI 1.03–1.51 was observed in the highest decile of mobile phone call-time (>258 min/week). With weights assigned to call-time to account for the lower RF-EMF exposure from Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS, 3G) than from Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM, 2G) the OR was 1.09 (95% CI 0.89–1.33) in the highest call-time decile. Conclusion: Insomnia was slightly more common among mobile phone users in the highest call-time category, but adjustment for the considerably lower RF-EMF exposure from the UMTS than the GSM network suggests that this association is likely due to other factors associated with mobile phone use than RF-EMF. No association was observed for other sleep outcomes. In conclusion, findings from this study do not support the hypothesis that RF-EMF from mobile phone use has long-term effects on sleep quality.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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